


Basements and Bad Memories

by MeteoraWrites



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Childhood Trauma, Flashbacks, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 17:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17923382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeteoraWrites/pseuds/MeteoraWrites
Summary: Nick drags Troy into a basement to hide from some assholes working for the Proctors. If only he'd known about Troy's history with such places...





	Basements and Bad Memories

**Author's Note:**

> For my Childhood Trauma square on Bad Things Happen Bingo

Nick wasn’t sure what was happening. They were hiding from some assholes who worked for the Proctors. Ended up in a basement of an old house with the both of them huddled in a corner. Troy had gone totally silent after a while. He figured it was just the other man not wanting to be heard. But now...

Troy’s totally out of it. Staring into space with this look that has Nick worried. He shook his shoulder, whispered in his ear to ask if he was alright. He got no reply. Just the blank stare.

Troy’s eyes are tearing up a bit, gaze still unfocused and set straight ahead. It’s starting to scare Nick, but he’s also afraid to do anything about it given that he can still hear those assholes stomping around  outside  looking for them. 

So, he wraps an arm around Troy’s shoulder and pulls him close as he waits it out.

~~~~~

It’s dark. Too dark. And cold. The light that hangs too high above for him to reach had burned out some time ago, leaving Troy standing in the middle of the basement with no way of knowing where anything around him was or even what time of day it was since the windows were blacked out.

He’d stopped crying hours ago. Leaving him feeling numb and tired. But he keeps standing. His mother dragged him down here and told him not to move. He doesn’t want to make her mad. If she’s mad then his father will be mad too and that’s even worse.

The muscles in his legs burn and ache from standing so long. It makes it hard not to sway on the spot. But he’s tries his best to hold still and not leave the spot is mother left him in. 

He hears light footsteps in the kitchen overhead. A small voice in his mind says to call out and ask to be let out of the dark basement, but he also hears his  mothers  voice in his mind yelling at him to be quiet for once in his life.

The footsteps are gone a minute later and he feels the urge to cry once more. Tears welling up in his eyes and a deep feeling of loneliness settling in. He wants Jake. Jake always makes him feel better. But Jake isn’t home. 

That’s why he got in trouble. He couldn’t stop crying, and his  mothers  yelling scared him even more, making him cry harder. There was no one to tell him it was okay and make him feel better. So, he was thrown down here where his mother didn’t have to listen to him.

He doesn’t understand why. Not really. He knows he isn’t supposed to cry. He knows his mother doesn’t feel well and is tired, but he was trying to be quiet and stop crying. He tried not to upset her. 

There’s yelling from upstairs now, his  fathers  booming voice carrying through the house. It sends fresh fear flooding through  him.  When his father is mad then he gets in even more trouble.

Tears spill down his cheeks and he bites his lip to stop from crying aloud. He doesn’t want to make his father even more mad.

The yelling eventually stops and heavy footsteps echo above before disappearing out the back door.

Troy isn’t sure how long he stands there after that. It feels like forever. But eventually there are heavy footsteps above again, and then the door to the basement is opening and a bright light is flooding in, making his eyes hurt.

He doesn’t move, just closes his eyes and waits for the light to stop hurting.

There’s the sound of footsteps on the stairs and then a hand is on his shoulder. Shaking him before moving to cup his cheek. He doesn’t recognize the voice at first. When he  blinks  he realizes his eyes were already open, and the room before him isn’t that of his childhood basement, but a different one entirely.

It’s the basement he and Nick are hiding in. 

The hand on his cheek is Nick’s. And Nick is kneeling in front of him with this heartbreakingly worried look on his face. 

“Troy? Hey,  Can  you hear me?” He asks softly.

Troy blinks, and his own hand raising to grab Nick’s where it rests on his cheek still. He can’t speak for a moment. Feeling heavy and a bit out of it.

“Hey, what happened? Are you okay?” Nick asks now that he sees that Troy is coming back to himself at least.

Shaking his  head  a little, he holds onto Nick’s hand a little tighter. “I...” he croaks out before swallowing harshly and licking his lips. “I was remembering...”

“Remembering what? You’ve been out of it for almost an hour, Troy. I was scared I lost you for a minute there.” Nick says as he brings his free hands up to run through Troy’s hair. It’s a bit sweaty from the heat of the basement, but Nick doesn’t seem to care.

“She locked me in the basement, when I was bad, when I couldn’t stop crying. She would throw me down in the basement and leave me there for days...” Troy explains, memories of the other times it had happened flashing through his mind and making him feel a mix of nausea and unease.

“Shit, Troy, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you say something before I dragged us down here?” Nick asks as he starts to pull Troy up to stand so he can lead the other man out of there as fast as possible.

Troy feels like his moving through sand and Nick pulls him, and he nearly stumbles back at how odd and unsteady he feels on his feet now. “I’ve never... This has never happened before...”

Nick shoots him a concerned look but keeps pulling him along. The minute they’re out of the basement he spins and pulls Troy to him in a tight hug, forcing the taller man to tilt his head down to rest his chin on Nick’s shoulder. “I’ll never make you do something like that again, alright?”

Troy freezes a moment, not sure how to react. Slowly, he wraps his arms around Nick’s waist and lets himself relax into the embrace. “Yeah... Thanks, Nicky...” He doesn’t really think he’ll be able to keep that promise. They’re still being hunted and will probably have to hide a few more times before they’re safely out of the Proctors territory. But the sentiment helps him shake off a little of the heaviness the memories left him with.

He doesn’t feel much better by the time they separate, isn’t sure he will be any time soon. But Nick holds his hand as they make their escape and that makes it okay for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to [Check out my Tumblr](https://meteora-writes.tumblr.com) for story update schedules and other info <3


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